Well, there go the fuel dumps…

As I write this post I’m trying to figure out which “category” I file this under. It just occurred to me that it’s probably time for a “dumba$$” category on the side of the blog, and I’m pretty sure a special website belongs there.

For a couple of years now it has been possible to drop the fuel surcharges on many international tickets by adding a segment (typically to Canada) to the end of the itinerary. I have to admit I never took advantage of it, as the thought of an international longhaul flight in coach is terrifying, but nonetheless it was quite useful for many. Hell, there’s even a thread on FlyerTalk discussing the topic with nearly 5,000 posts. This technique could often take hundreds of dollars off of flights.

While this was by no means secret, FlyerTalkers did a good job of “beating around the bush.” Frankly I’m amazed it lasted as long as it did. How the hell did the airlines not catch on for several years?

And then, just like that, it disappeared. For some reason I can’t quite figure out, airfarewatchdog.com thought it would be a good idea to publish an article outlining exactly how the fuel dumping process works. Brilliant, right? Well, hours after the article was posted, fuel dumping was no more.

On one hand there are all kinds of nasty names I’d like to call AirFareWatchdog, and I’m not alone. Look at the comments on the article, directed towards them on Twitter, and on their Facebook page. It ain’t pretty, and they’re beyond dumb for posting an article outlining this. At the same time, how the hell did it take the airlines two years to figure this out? Frankly, I thought they just had no way of preventing this, but the fact that they pulled it hours after the article was published suggests that’s not the case. Are they really that oblivious?

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About luckyBen Schlappig (aka Lucky) is a travel consultant, blogger, and avid points collector.
He travels about 400,000 miles a year, primarily using miles and points to fund his first class experiences.
He chronicles his adventures, along with industry news, here at One Mile At A Time.

Comments

Yea. Saw the blog post. Cringed. Lamented. Have moved on, eagerly awaiting the next big “trick” or “secret” – where one door closes, another usually opens. Not always as lucrative but sometimes it is (or even more so) – such is the ebb and flow of frequent travel. 🙂

It seems highly unlikely that the AFWD blog post caused this trick to be closed so quickly; however, I can’t come up with a better explanation, either.

I’m with you, Ben, international coach is terrifying, but I had recently discovered that this trick could be used for upgradeable open-jaw tickets originating in Europe, such as BRU-xxx-FRA. While this has the potential to be more comfortable than coach, it’s not exactly a convenient routing if you live in the US.

airline live on the idea of price discrimination, and charge what each customer is willing to pay, the hard to is segmenting the market, and flyertalk’s trick it thread was perfect for them, since we’ll all cheap ass people who wouldn’t fly on a “normal” fare, and our secretive nature keep everyone else out.

But when AFWD posted it, they can no longer segment the market, and poof, its gone, If the airlines were smart, they’d try to come up with something else for the trick it thread.

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